This solid noir from Cuban expatriate Latour (Outcast
) opens with a deceptive encounter in an upscale Havana suburb. Sean and Marina, two joggers claiming to be Canadian tourists in need of water, buzz the door of Elena Miranda, an attractive special education teacher, who lets the couple into her spacious if shabby apartment. Elena's hospitality toward the strangers arouses the ire of her brother, Pablo, who suspects they're up to no good. When someone breaks Pablo's neck soon after this meeting, his murder appears to be linked to his involvement in a lucrative pornography racket. Capt. Felix Trujillo of the Department of Technical Investigations later learns that the killing may connect in some way to Pablo's father, a legendary figure in the struggles to topple Batista, now imprisoned for a crime of passion. Some readers may be dismayed that Latour focuses more on the scheming Sean and Marina than on Trujillo, whose wry awareness of the challenges of being an honest policeman in a corrupt system would make him an intriguing series lead. (Mar.)
